Manchester United are no longer making the same mistakes as before.

Manchester United's imminent completion of the Bryan Mbeumo deal demonstrates a strategic shift in the English club's approach to the transfer market.

ZNews•19/07/2025

Signing Mbeumo is not only a solution to the attacking problems but also a strategic move for Manchester United to return to the top.

According to sources from Sky Sports and The Athletic , Manchester United have made significant progress in their pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, with Brentford accepting an offer worth £65 million plus £6 million in add-ons.

The African striker will sign a five-year contract with the "Red Devils," with an option to extend for a further year. The deal is expected to be finalized before Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States, which begins on July 26th.

The necessary deal

Manchester United, with their historically attacking style of play, have often recruited high-profile strikers throughout the club's history. At 25, Mbeumo scored 20 goals and provided 8 assists in the Premier League last season, making him a top target for manager Ruben Amorim to improve the attack after a disappointing 2024/25 season, in which Manchester United only scored 44 goals and finished 15th in the league.

Last season, Cunha and Mbeumo together contributed 48 goals and assists in the Premier League, promising a major turning point in the Old Trafford attack. To win, MU needs goals, something strikers like Hojund or Zirkzee failed to deliver last season.

Mbeumo not only scored goals but also contributed to 40% of Brentford's total points (22 points from 27 goal contributions) in the league last season. His sharp finishing ability, especially in the penalty area (18 out of 20 goals were scored in this area), makes him the kind of "killer" that Manchester United desperately need.

Manchester United's transfer history shows that strikers from the Premier League generally have a higher success rate than foreign players from other leagues. Wayne Rooney (from Everton), Robin van Persie (from Arsenal), Dimitar Berbatov (from Tottenham), and Carlos Tevez (from West Ham) all adapted quickly and made an immediate impact thanks to their experience playing in England.

Conversely, foreign strikers like Radamel Falcao (from Monaco), Hojund (Atalanta), or Zirkzee (Bologna) often fail due to their difficulty adapting to the pace, pressure, and physical demands of the Premier League.

Former England manager Fabio Capello once explained why Joshua Zirkzee and other strikers from other leagues struggle to adapt to the new environment at Manchester United and the Premier League.

"In Italy, he could do whatever he wanted. But in England, he doesn't even have time to think before the ball is taken from him," Capello analyzed on Rai . "Watch Zirkzee play in the Premier League and tell me if he's still the same player we admired at Bologna – things are different now."

Manchester United England 1

With the Bryan Mbeumo deal nearing completion, United are on the right track investing in a player who has proven his worth in the Premier League.

“After Bologna’s defeat to Aston Villa, I asked Vincenzo Italiano (Bologna’s coach) what his impressions were of the two English teams they had faced (Aston Villa and Liverpool). He replied: ‘They run, they move faster, they have a completely different pace,’” Capello emphasized the difference between Serie A and the Premier League at the present time.

Change

The signings of Mbeumo, and previously Matheus Cunha, also marked a significant shift in Manchester United's transfer policy. Statistics from Transfermarkt show that since the summer of 2020, only 8% of Manchester United's total £778 million transfer spending has been on Premier League players – the lowest among the top six teams in the league.

Conversely, Arsenal spend 54%, Tottenham 43%, Chelsea 36%, Manchester City 31%, and Liverpool 18% – double the amount spent by the "Red Devils" – on buying players from the Premier League. Buying from Premier League rivals is often not cheap and is complicated, but Manchester United's past success has relied heavily on this.

Manchester United's success with strikers from the Premier League such as Rooney, Van Persie, Berbatov, and Tevez, while many strikers from other leagues like Falcao, Depay, and most recently Hojund and Zirkzee, have failed, demonstrates the clear advantages of recruiting players already familiar with the Premier League environment.

When they arrived at Old Trafford, players like Rooney and Van Persie, who had already played in England for many years, didn't need time to adapt to the intensity of the game or the pressure from the fans. Conversely, strikers like Falcao and Depay, despite their talent, struggled to adjust their playing style to the harsh realities of the Premier League.

Cavani and Ibrahimovic may be rare successful signings for Manchester United when recruiting foreign strikers. However, these two strikers only joined MU when they were already older, and their impact on the "Red Devils" was not significant enough.

Prioritizing the recruitment of players from the Premier League not only reduces risk but also ensures faster integration and greater effectiveness. With ambitions to quickly regain their former glory, the Manchester United leadership has good reason to prioritize players with experience in England to avoid repeating past failures.

Source: https://znews.vn/manchester-united-khong-con-sai-lam-nhu-truoc-post1569781.html